During this year's Republic Day ceremony, five members were appointed to The National Order of Merit, two of whom received the award on an honorary basis and one of the latter was awarded posthumously. Eleven other individuals were awarded the Medal of the republic. Three of them were awarded the medal on an honorary basis and two posthumously.
Among the people who received received the medals this year include the athletes of Special Olympics Malta. Former EU Commissioner Karmenu Vella was appointed to the National Order of Merit.
On Republic Day each year, the President, on behalf of the government and people of Malta, pays public tribute to a number of Maltese citizens who distinguish themselves in different fields of endeavour, by appointing them to The National Order of Merit or by granting other awards.
Nationals of other countries may be conferred with honorary membership of the Order or awarded the Medal of the Republic on an honorary basis.
This year's Investiture Ceremony again took place at The Palace, Valletta, on Friday 13 December 2019, immediately following the customary Ceremonial Parade held at the Palace Square.
The National Order of Merit
Companion
Karmenu Vella
Born in Zurrieq in 1950, Karmenu Vella was first elected to Parliament in 1976 and continued to be re-elected in the elections that followed, for nine consecutive times. During his political career he has been appointed Minister for Public Works, Minister for Industry and Minister for Tourism twice. Karmenu Vella vacated his parliamentary seat in 2014, following his nomination as European Commissioner.
Honorary Officers
Prof. Jovan Kurbalija - UOM
Prof. Jovan Kurbalija has a professional and academic background in international law, diplomacy, and information technology. He has been a pioneer in the field of cyber diplomacy since 1992 when he established the Unit for Information Technology and Diplomacy at the Mediterranean Academy of Diplomatic Studies in Malta. Prof. Kurbalija is the Founding Director of DiploFoundation and the Head of the Geneva Internet Platform.
Prof. Raymond Mangion
Raymond Mangion was born in Ħamrun in 1959. He was a script-writer for rediffusion and radio at a very young age. In 1978, he was the first person in the history of broadcasting in Malta to initiate a long series about the Maltese towns and villages and about Maltese biographies. Raymond Mangion is currently a Professor of Law and Legal History at the Faculty of Laws, University of Malta.
Tony Zahra
Tony Zahra was born in Sliema in 1945 and he is currently the President of the Malta Hotels and Restaurants Association. Zahra is considered one of the pioneers of the Maltese tourism industry and throughout his career he has owned and managed tour operating companies in the UK and Holland, a Destination Management company, hotels and other accommodations in Malta.
Honorary members
Prof. Joseph A Buttigieg (Posthumous)
Born in Hamrun in 1947, Professor Joseph A. Buttigieg completed his undergraduate work and a master's degree at the University of Malta. Buttigieg specialized in modern European literature and theory publishing numerous articles, essays and books. He also translated and edited the three-volume English edition of Antonio Gramsci's Prison Notebooks. He was also a founding member and President of the International Gramsci Society.
Medal of the republic
Anthony Bezzina
Anthony Bezzina was born in Paola, in 1948. He is a renowned entrepreneur and considered as a local leader in maritime affairs. He is highly respected in his locality for his contributions in the social and philantropic spheres. For the past 38 years, Anthony Bezzina has been President of Hibernians FC.
Fr Ġanmari Cauchi
John Mary Cauchi, better known as Fr Ġanmari Cauchi was born in 1942 in Għarb, Gozo. In 1963, when he was 21 years of age, he moved to Brazil to pursue his studies in Theology.
Archbishop José Maria Pires ordained Father Ġanmari Cauchi as a priest in the diocese of Paraiba in 1967 where he gave service for around 50 years. Father Cauchi was the Bishop of various parishes and he assisted farmers through an organization of the Brazilian Catholic Church known as the Land Pastoral Commission whose aim is to help poor farming families to acquire a piece of land, often having lived on it for several years. When he reached 75 years of age and after having spent 50 years as a priest in Brazil, he decided to return to the island of Gozo where he is still giving service at the Ta' Pinu Sanctuary and the Pompeii Home for the Elderly.
Joe Grech
Born in 1934 in Cospicua, Joe Grech is renowned for introducing songs in the Maltese Language to an international audience. Grech won the first Malta Song Festival in 1960 which was held at the Radio City Opera House in Ħamrun with his own composition "Vola Uccellino". In 1962, he won again in the same Fesitval with the song "Żgħażagħ Rebbieħa".
Lino Grech (Posthumous)
Born in 1930 in Sliema, Lino Grech was a distinguished Maltese actor, director and writer of theatre works. Through his initiative, a number of drama schools were set up in Malta and he dedicated his life to promote drama and theatre. He was renowned for various script writing namely, 'F'Baħar Wieħed', 'Ipokriti', 'Ingroppi', 'Simpatiċi', 'Tgħannieqa', and 'Kristu tal- Kerrejja'. The screenplay 'F'Baħar Wieħed' was the first tele series in Maltese broadcasted on Xandir Malta.
Alfred C. Sant
Alfred C. Sant was born in Mosta in 1945. Over a period of fifty years, together with composer Ray Agius, Sant wrote a number of renowned pieces which became part of the Maltese folklore, namely 'L-Ewwel Tfajla li Ħabbejt', 'Computer', 'Sal-Aħħar', 'Fjura fil-Kantina', 'Fejn Tħobb il-Qalb' and 'Dak Kien Żmien'. He also wrote and produced a number of musicals like, 'L-Għarusa tal-Mosta' that was enacted at the Mediterranean Conference Centre, 'Toni Bajjada-Eroj minn Naxxar' and 'Qalb il-Kampanjol'.
Athletes of Special Olympics Malta
The 28 athletes of Special Olympics Malta, who participated with different challenges in this year's Special Olympics held in Abu Dhabi, won 40 medals, 12 gold, 13 silver and 14 bronze in 9 different sport disciplines. Through their success, these athletes confirmed that they have all the necessary skills to compete with other athletes from around the world
Loranne Vella Zahra
Loranne Vella Zahra was born in Gozo in 1971. During her undergraduate project research in 1994, she isolated, identified and named a novel bacterium belonging to the genus Salmonella - abbreviated as Salmonella Gozo - in honour of the island where it was first isolated. She subsequently graduated with first class honours in pharmacy from the University of Malta's Faculty of Medicine and Surgery. Loranne Vella Zahra successfully designed and led a global quality project for the IAG Group (British Airways and Iberia) making them the first cargo airline with a global airport network licensed for the safe international transportation of pharmaceuticals. She currently resides in the UK and now operates her own pharmaceutical quality consultancy.
John Zammit
Born in 1948, John Zammit is the current president of The Malta Cycling Federation. During his competitive career, not only did he represent Malta in some important events abroad, but he also had a three-year spell with Sicilian club GS Lampolet of Catania where he won numerous honours during those three years. However, he is also very much attached and dedicated to The BMX Malta Association, of which he is not just the president, but also the founder. Thanks to his initiative, Zammit has managed to attract thousands of youngsters to the sport over the years. He has also worked hard on the Tour of Malta, of which he is a co-founder. After retiring from competitive cycling, he started coaching and, in 1991, he led the Malta national team at the Andorra Small Nations Games.
On Honorary basis
Jose-Maria Ballester Fernandez Fontes
José-María Ballester Fernandez Fontes was, until 2005, director of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage of the Council of Europe. He has been responsible for the proclamation of the Camino de Santiago as the first European cultural itinerary. José-María served as a member and vice president of the European Union Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards until 2012, when he was elected President. Between 1996 and 2008, he also served as an advisor to the Holy See for the Cultural Goods of the Church. He was instrumental in the setting up of the St John's Cathedral Foundation in Malta.
Roland Oreste Cassar (Posthumous)
Roland Oreste Cassar, was born in Egypt in 1934 where he lived until he was seventeen. At this young age, he left the country to pursue an aeronautical engineering degree in England. He stayed in Bristol for 13 years and there he was given an assignment to design the vertical tail section of the famous supersonic airplane, the Concorde. When McDonnell Douglas, a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, went to England recruiting talented engineers with supersonic background experience, they offered Roland Cassar a coveted position in their Long Beach, California facility.
His command of many languages helped him to travel the world with the Boeing sales team, explaining and answering technical issues to potential customers. He worked as Business Unit Manager at Boeing where he supervised 250 employees on the C-17 Globemaster III for structural stress testing, loads and fatigue along with overseeing the formal military and FAA certification process.
Natalie Louisa Maria Muschamp
Natalie Muschamp is the managing director of Step up for Parkinson's. She originally studied dance in the Netherlands and has completed a Masters by research in dance studies in Malta. The first connection with Parkinson's disease (PD) was within Natalie's own family. In 2015, Muschamp became aware of the Dance for PD program in Brooklyn, New York and felt compelled to help People with Parkinson's disease through dance movement. In 2016, she started a pilot study in Malta in collaboration with the Malta Parkinson's Disease Association and realised how these classes could benefit not only the person with Parkinson's disease, but also their caregiver. In order to be able to host these classes free of charge, Muschamp applied for Funding and founded the Voluntary Organisation Step Up for Parkinson's. The organisation grew rapidly from 8 to 190 participants, hosting 9 classes per week in Malta and has eleven trained teachers working for the organisation.